


The Horrors That Haunt

by spelldaggered



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Ficlet, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Whumptober, Whumptober 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2018-10-07
Packaged: 2019-07-27 18:13:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16224581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spelldaggered/pseuds/spelldaggered
Summary: Whumptober Day Four: “No, stop!”Morgana’s going to kill Arthur in front of him, with the dagger he gave her all those years ago, and there’s nothing Merlin can do to stop her.





	The Horrors That Haunt

“The great knights of Camelot,” Morgana drawled, her voice laced with an eerie humour that sent a shiver down Merlin’s spine. “Oh, how the mighty have fallen.”

“They haven’t fallen yet,” Merlin spat, and was rewarded with a slap across his cheek for his troubles.

“Look around you,” Morgana laughed, gesturing to the scene he found himself in. “Camelot is mine.”

Merlin glanced round despite himself, his stomach rolling as he took it all in again.

The knights, each and every one of them, bound to their chairs at the round table, in an enchanted sleep until Morgana chose to wake them, or worse. And Merlin, strapped to the table itself, a sacrifice to Morgana’s perverse understanding of the Old Religion.

A willing sacrifice though, if it meant his friends would stay unharmed.

“You know I was going to make this quick and painless,” Morgana continued, beginning to stroll around the table, running her hands through their hair, across their shoulders, tracing their lips with her deadly fingers, “but then you got in the way, and made it so much more fun.”

She laughed cruelly, and Merlin tensed, unable to see her anymore from his trapped position. 

“You can’t keep them asleep forever,” Merlin hissed, struggling against the ropes that held him fast. “They’ll wake up, and when they do, they’ll fight.”

“I won’t give them the chance,” Morgana answered swiftly, venomously, and then she was back in Merlin’s line of sight, her hands on Arthur’s shoulders. The king was sat at Merlin’s feet, and he bristled at Morgana having the nerve to even touch him.

“Let him go,” Merlin ordered, his voice steady.

Morgana scoffed.

“I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, Merlin, but you’re in no position to be giving orders,” she said sharply, and with a tug of Arthur’s hair, she snapped his neck back so fast, Merlin was certain she’d killed him in one go for a moment.

Arthur winced, even in his unconscious state, and Merlin groaned, trying to get out of his restraints once more.

“Leave him alone,” Merlin said, more of a plea in his voice now.

“Silence!” Morgana shouted suddenly, and he shrank back, stunned. “You have never had a say in what happens before, servant, and you don’t get to have one now. You’ve been fooling yourself if you thought you had any sort of sway over this court.”

The words stung, and Merlin knew it was showing in his face.

“Now I’m going to let you watch him die, and I shall enjoy it.”

“Please, no,” Merlin begged, no longer trying to get himself free, horrified at the thought of having to watch Arthur killed before him.

With a flourish, Morgana brandished the very dagger that Arthur had gifted to her, smirking as she saw the expression that crossed Merlin’s face.

“Fitting, isn’t it?” she asked.

“No, please, please don’t do this, Morgana.”

The smirk turned to a scowl, and she plunged the knife into Arthur’s chest with her eyes narrowed at Merlin.

“This is my kingdom now. I’ll do what I want.”

“Please,” Merlin cried, unsure of when he’d started, but finding his cheeks wet with tears.

“Shall we make it more fun?” Morgana asked, stabbing Arthur again as her eyes flashed, and suddenly Arthur was awake, his eyes widening before Morgana conjured flames to surround him. “Magic is always more fun, isn’t it?”

Arthur screamed in agony.

“No, stop it! Please, stop, please. Arthur!”

“This is your fault,” Morgana said brusquely, delivering one final, fatal blow with the dagger. “I win,  _Emrys_.”

“No!” Merlin howled.

“Merlin!”

He jolted awake, panting, drenched in sweat.

Arthur was sat up, hovering over him, looking terrified.

“Arthur,” Merlin gasped, reaching up to touch his face, reassure himself that the man was real, that he was alive. That Morgana could only visit him in his nightmares, that his secret was safe, that Arthur was okay. 

“Yes, I’m here, I’m okay,” he said gently, placing a hand over Merlin’s and carefully pulling it away, before sinking back down into their bed and pulling Merlin close.

“Good,” Merlin whispered, letting Arthur’s firm arms wrap tightly around him.

Arthur was different when Merlin woke from a bad dream. In the early hours of the morning, when it was just the two of them in their room, lit only by the weak moonlight from outside, he was more tender than Merlin had ever known, as if he knew the horrors that haunted Merlin’s sleep.

Merlin was glad of it.

“We’re okay,” Arthur murmured to him, settling down to go back to sleep, idly brushing Merlin’s hair away from his forehead. “We’re okay.”

**Author's Note:**

> Prompts/requests are always open over at [spelldaggered.tumblr.com](http://spelldaggered.tumblr.com) for anything you want to see, including whumptober prompts - thanks for reading! (And sorry for the delay while I catch up after getting sick!)


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